


Discovery

by nyausgris



Series: Earthling AU [3]
Category: The Transformers (IDW Generation One), Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, this is like hubble finding out that wow. nasa plans shit., woo posting more shit i already had written
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-08
Updated: 2019-02-08
Packaged: 2020-02-16 07:59:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18687376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nyausgris/pseuds/nyausgris
Summary: NASA had been lying to them. Lying to them all! Well, maybe not actually lying.. But not telling someone something the whole truth is just as bad as lying, right?





	Discovery

Hubble tiredly made their way back to the room they had been given. Upon opening the door, they made a beeline for the berth and flopped down on top of it. The repairs had tired them out more than they had expected. Maybe it was because usually gravity didn't affect them after repairs.. Maybe it was because they've never had repairs this extensive. According to the medics, there had been a  _ lot _ wrong with them.   
  
They dismissed the pings warning them of the new unplanned for repairs and looked over anything else that popped up. Wait, hold on. They had something marked as unread? Their  _ Mission Statement _ was marked as unread???   
  


Hubble could've _ sworn _ they'd read that file a million times over. Of course they had, it was their  _ mission statement. _ They loved taking pictures for NASA and constantly looked at the file to see if something that had recently caught their interest was within mission parameters, so why was it saying something was unread?   
  
Hubble decided to read the file once more, out of curiosity if nothing else. If there wasn’t anything new with the file, they decided they’d tell the nice medics that the repairs had messed with the files they had on hand and would ask if there was something they could do to fix the problem.   
  
Reading through the file, nothing seemed new. Absolutely everything was the same. Hubble figured they would have to make another trip to the medbay when they woke up after a quick nap. However, after a few more seconds of scrolling they noticed there  _ was _ something new on the file. At the very bottom of the file, a new section of text was now visible. Something labeled “Details for Re-Entry upon Mission Failure.” Curiosity piqued, Hubble took a look at the new text. 

 

\---------

 

[Details for Re-Entry upon Mission Failure]

 

In order to safely de-orbit HST, a mission using Space Shuttle  _ Columbia _ will be launched to retrieve HST and safely bring them down to Johnson Space Center to allow them to join Youse and any yet-to-be-launched probes on the surface.   
  
_ EDIT: Due to the retirement of the Space Shuttle Fleet, as well as the cost and potential risk to the crew, the above method of retrieving HST is no longer viable. The new method is as follows: _   
  
In 2009, as a part of STS-125/HST-SM4, the crew installed the Soft Capture Mechanism (SCM) and the Relative Navigation System (RNS) to allow for a guided re-entry. If left unguided and uncontrolled upon re-entry, parts of HST’s primary mirror and support structure would most likely survive, leaving the potential for damage or even human fatalities. HST’s guided re-entry plans for them to land in the South Pacific Ocean Uninhabited Area, where there is no possibility of human fatality. Expected re-entry should happen anywhere from 2028 to 2040.

 

\----------

  
Wait.. Hold on. NASA planned for them to land in the middle of the ocean? What kind of place was that? Hubble was confused. They re-read over the new bit of information over and over again. Apparently not all of them was expected to surv- Oh.  _ Oh. _   
  
The realisation hit Hubble like a brick. NASA’s new plan for getting them out of orbit was for them to crash and  _ burn. _ Well, burn and splash if Hubble wanted to be specific. NASA had changed their plan to bring them to safety to just.. Letting them die? It had become crystal clear to Hubble that NASA seemed to care more about their budget and own people than Hubble. The ‘risk’ of sending another crew up in a shuttle explained why Hubble hadn’t been repaired since 2009 too.   
  
From the text on file, it seemed like NASA was set on this plan. They had  _ committed  _ to letting Hubble die during their last servicing mission when they installed those new instruments. Hubble didn’t even  _ know _ they had those! NASA had installed instruments on them behind their back meant for making sure they wouldn’t end up killing anyone  _ else _ when they inevitably died! They’d have to ask the medics if they could get rid of those.. They didn't feel safe knowing that those were on them somewhere.   
  
A moment of silence passes in the room as Hubble stares out the window. “How… How  _ could _ they…” They murmur softly, feeling like a heavy weight had just been put in their chest. “I’ve done so much… I’ve worked so  _ hard _ for them.” They continue, louder this time. There’s no one to hear them, of course. But they just  _ can’t _ stay quiet. They refuse to. ”I’ve worked so hard.. and they’re ready to just.. let me die like that..” They murmur, going soft once again. They can feel tears pricking their eyes but nothing falls. They  _ want _ to cry, but they’re so  _ angry, _ so  _ tired _ that nothing happens. All they can do is defeatedly look at the floor.   
  
“They sounded so  _ concerned _ when I left orbit. They sounded like they were  _ scared _ of losing me, like they were scared of something  _ bad _ happening to me.. But, they were planning to just let me die anyways.  _ They were just scared of not getting a few more years of good data! _ ” Hubble ranted to the empty room. They knew there was no use raising their voice but, they were angry! “They didn’t actually care about me, did they..?” They ask, softer this time.   
  
They stayed quiet for a moment, the deafening silence of the room heavily contrasting their previous shouting. They couldn’t hear anything but the distant hum of the ships engines if they stayed silent. They scooted themself back off the edge of the berth until their back was to the wall and then pulled their knees to their chest.    
  
They stayed like that for a few minutes, just sitting there in the silence. They thought about the 30 years they had spent up above Earth’s atmosphere always looking out into space. They thought about their friends who were surely still right where Hubble and Sojourner had left them. They thought about how NASA had hid something like this in their files and Hubble hadn’t found it until 3 decades later.   
  
“I can’t believe they’d have something like this just hidden away.. I can’t believe they’d never  _ told _ any of us this. How can they not tell us any of this?!” Hubble took a look out of the tiny window in the room, looking off towards the direction of Earth. They scowled. Hubble didn’t recall ever feeling  _ this  _ upset, this  _ angry.  _ They certainly believed they were justified though. NASA had been  _ lying to them.  _ Lying to them all! Well, maybe not  _ actually _ lying.. But not telling someone something the whole truth is  _ just as bad _ as lying, right?   
  
Hubble paused for a moment, their anger dissipating slightly as they began to think about the others back around Earth. If  _ they _ had deaths already planned out by NASA? What if the disappearances and failures were all planned and not accidents? What about the others? What about the others not in low Earth orbit? What about Chandra? What about the rovers? What about the other planetary pro-   
  
Hubble’s thought process skidded to a halt as the realisation struck them. NASA had  _ planned _ for Cassini to plunge into Saturn. They  _ planned _ her death, just like they had planned Hubble’s. Only, Cassini wasn’t as lucky.    
  
They had to warn their friends. They had to prevent more deaths from happening.   
  
They’d go back to Earth and let everyone else know they were okay and still alive and warn them, but they wouldn’t stay. There was no way they could stay and continue their mission for NASA now knowing what they had planned. They’d urge the others to leave too.   
  
“I wish I’d left orbit sooner…” Hubble murmured quietly, pulling their knees tighter to their chest. “Maybe I could’ve saved someone sooner. Maybe I could’ve saved Cassi. She shouldn’t have died like that..”


End file.
